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bobbo49's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Disappointing. I have read a lot of Atwood's work, and some (like The Blind Assassin) is magical, most is excellent . . . but this was somewhat mundane. Yes, she captures the challenges of childhood very well, and the challenges of life as a woman growing up in the 1940s, and as an artist in adult life, but overall I felt the story was overly drawn out and without enough of Atwood's magic.
yulenka's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
dearbhlanoonan's review
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Bullying, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Abortion and Death
Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, Drug use, and War
avesmaria's review against another edition
4.0
Just read this for the first time since middle school, and it's better than I remembered, so I'm taking my rating up to 4 stars.
Cat's Eye is the story of a middle-aged painter looking back on her life, especially friendships with other girls in her youth and the eventual unraveling of those relationships. While it lacks some of the inventive sci-fi/dystopian settings of some of my favorite Atwood novels, it's still got her signature voice. It's a novel I appreciate much more now, as an adult navigating an artistic career and parenthood, than I did as a young teenager.
Cat's Eye is the story of a middle-aged painter looking back on her life, especially friendships with other girls in her youth and the eventual unraveling of those relationships. While it lacks some of the inventive sci-fi/dystopian settings of some of my favorite Atwood novels, it's still got her signature voice. It's a novel I appreciate much more now, as an adult navigating an artistic career and parenthood, than I did as a young teenager.
teh_niarr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, War, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent and Alcohol
g96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rosannaevanscornwall's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
haave's review against another edition
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mitskacir's review against another edition
4.0
Alright, literally nothing happens in this book but somehow I still really enjoyed it. This is definitely fueled by character development and relationships, not plot, and is mainly a rumination on female friendships and girlhood and how they shape and haunt a person. I really love Atwood's writing and was riveted by the day-to-day experiences of the young girl protagonist Elaine, and felt anxious and gutted by the way her "friends" treated her. I empathized with how Elaine's emotions towards Cordelia morphed and changed throughout her life - shame, denial, forgetfulness, spite, indifference, guilt, longing, to name a few. I myself have felt the complexity of female friendships and the way a friendship can be colored differently as the years pass, and felt like this book articulated many of those feelings very poignantly. Also, surprisingly, I actually liked the descriptions of Elaine's artwork and what it is like to be an artist - usually books about artists feel artificial and pretentious, but I really could visualize Elaine's art and was compelled by it.